Gold mining machinery



Jan. 25, 1938. R. G. NEIDER 2,105,157

GOLD MINING IVIACHINERYy Filed May 15, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 gmc/who@ Jan. 25, 1938, R. G. .NEIDER 2,106,157 GOLD MINING MACHINERY Fi`1ed May l5, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan.z5,1938. R. G,NE|DER 2,106,157

GOLD MINING MACHINERY Filed May 15, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 25, 1938. R. G. NEIDER GOLD MINING .MACHINERY Filed May 15, '1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 .ll ...u

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Patented dan. 25, i933 iiiiipi ges-nii PAT Submarine Gold Mining Company,

Boise,

Idaho, a corporation of Idaho Application May 15, 1937, Serial No. 142,892

11 Claims.

This invention relates to gold mining machinery and particularly to means for recovering gold from the sands of river bottoms or other places under water.

One object ci this invention is to provide moans for this purpose, including a barge, a diving bell movable through the barge, the barge having means whereby the diving bell may be raised or lowered, and means being provided in the form of spuds for guiding the bell downward in piace on the river bottom to prevent the bell from being shifted out of its designed place by strong currents.

Another object is to provide a diving bell having a man-way leading downward into the bell and having a length greater than the depth to which the bell is to be sunk whereby access may be had at all times to the interior of the bell, this man-way being provided with air locks.

A further object is to provide the diving bell with a sluice box and a receptacle or compartment for the tailings discharged from the sluice box and provide means whereby water may be caused to ilow down over the sluice box to sep-arate the gold from the sand and lighter materials and whereby the tailings may be sucked up by a sand pump and then, if necessary, reconcentrated.

A further object is to provide the barge with means whereby the diving bell may be raised or lowered and means for supporting the spuds in a raised position and then allowing the spuds to drop of their own weight into the river bed to act as guides for the diving bell, and provide means whereby the spuds may be raised when any particular diving operation finished and it is desired to move the barge to a new position.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a barge and diving bell constructed in accordance with my invention, the hull being broken away to show the diving bell.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. l, the upper works being omitted.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the tower whereby access is had to the interior of the diving bell. Fig. 4 is a section on the line ll-i of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detailed fragmentary elevation of one of the spuds and its guide and showing a pawl whereby the Spud is held raised.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through theA diving bell and showing the pecking apron in place against the bottom of the river.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional View on the line 8 8 of Fig. l, the section being on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View through the apron and showing the pockets therein.

Referring to Fig. 1, d designates a barge which may be of any suitable construction and only a portion of which is illustrated in the figures. The central portion of the barge is formed to provide an opening il. Supported above this opening by suitable vertical members l2 are the two crossbeams i3 which support the pulley block il over the center of the opening li. These beams l.. also support the pulleys i5 and Iii over which are trained the cables which operate the spuds,

as will be later described.

Adapted to be lowered or raised through the bell is directed toward the oncoming stream or y' current. The bell is illustrated as supported by means of a pulley block IS engaged by a cable with the pulley block i4 in an obvious and well known manner. This cable 2t passes from the pulley block i4 over a sheave 2l supported on the beams I3 and from thence passes down to any suitable power hoist.

The interior of the bell is provided with a longitudinally extending sluice box 22 preferably having riflies on its upper face and preferably being inclined downward from one end of the bell toward the other end thereof. This sluice box discharges its tailings into a compartment 23. The operators within the bell dig out the sand upon which the bell rests and throw the sand or gravel into the sluice box. A water pipe 2li discharges into this sluice box. A suction hose 25 is disposed within the bell and has its lower end provided with a cage 26 and draws the fine tailings irom the tailings compartment 23, as will be later stated.

For the purpose of permitting entrance and exit to the diving bell at all times, one end Vof the bell is provided with a vertically extending tubular man-way tower 2l. This extends upward This bell is raised by means of a power above the bell a distance equal to the greatest depth to which the bell is likely to be lowered and is formed to provide an entrance opening at its upper' end closed by a door 28. Intermediate the lengt-h of the tower 2l there is a sec-- ond door 2S, these doors 2S and 2S constituting air locks. A ladder 39 extends downward from the top of the tower 2T to the bottom of the bell. Air under compression is discharged into the interior of the bell by means of the air pipe 3l. The pipes 2d, 25, and 3l are extended upward exteriorly of the tower 21 and are supported for movement with this tower and with the bell by means of the brackets 32. At their upper ends, these three pipes are connected to flexible pipes 33, 3ft, and 35, whereby these pipes may be respectively connected to a water pump, to a sand pump and to an air pump all mounted upon the deck of the barge.

For the purpose of guiding the bell in its downward movement so as to sink the bell with certainty at a particular spot in the bed of the stream or river, I provide the spuds 3G disposed one at each end of the opening Il. These spuds are pointed at their lower ends, of course, and they intended to be allowed to drop from the barge straight downward and to enter the bed of the river. The spuds are relatively heavy, of course, and are guided in their vertical movements by eyes 3?. There are any desired number of these guides 3l attached to the vertical members l2 and through which the spuds loosely pass. The bell l'l is also provided at each end with a plurality of guides 38 having oyes through which the spud loosely passes. The spuds are raised or held in a raised position by means of collars 3Q each provided with a pawl 4U. The other end of each pawl is connected to a cable 4i which passes over the respective sheaves E5 and lli and down to spud Winches Il?. and 3. As long as these cables are taut, the pawls 4@ will engage with the spuds and hold them raised. When the cables are slackened, the pawls will trip and permit the descent under their own weight of the spuds 36 which will thus be driven into the bed of the river, the spuds sliding through the collars 39, the guides 3T and the guides 38. After the spuds have dropped and embedded their lower ends in the bed of the' river, the diving bell is then lowered onto the river bed and is guided in its descent by these previously embedded spuds. Provision must be made, of course, for preventing the inlet of water around the lower edge of the bell and for packing the point of contact between the lower edge of the bell and the river bottom.

To this end, I have provided a canvas apron or annular bag designated generally 44, the upper edge of which annular bag is attached to the lower margin of the bell. This annular canvas bag is partially filled with sand designated 45 in Fig. 7. Preferably, the interior of the annular canvas bag is separated by canvas partitions 4S so as to form a series of sand containing compartments within the annular bag. The upper margin of the annular bag or apron extends upward, then inward and downward and is wrapped around an annular iron band 4l. Attached to the lower edge of the bell at intervals are upwardly and outwardly extending arms 48 whose upper ends are spaced from the outer face of the bell and the iron 47 is disposed in this space. A set screw 49 extends through the upper end of each of the arms 43 and bears against the outer surface of that portion of the canvas which is wrapped around the annular iron 4l or band and this set screw forces the canvas and the two folds of canvas and the band 4l tightly against the face of the bell sufficiently so as to prevent any entrance of water at this point. With this construction, it is obvious that the canvas apron or annular bag 44 will normally, and when the bell is raised, depend to its full extent from the bottom of the bell and then as the bell is lowered onto the bed of the stream, this apron or annular bag-like packing will spread laterally and the sand with which it is weighted will cause the undersurface of this baglike element to conform to the surface of the stream. This action is illustrated in Fig. 7.

The barge, as before stated, may be of any suitable construction and it is designed that the barge shall support a tool house having suitable tools, forges, etc., whereby repairs may be made to the mechanism carried by the barge or the mechanism within the diving bell. The barge will also preferably be provided with a second building or house having therein room for ofces, a dining hall, kitchen etc., and sleeping quarters for the men. I have not illustrated these particular details in the drawings as it is obvious that these details will form no part of my invention and might be varied in many ways. It is necessary, however, that the barge shall havev means whereby it may be maneuvered into any particular position on the river or stream and to this end the forward corners of the barge are provided with hand winches 50 having lines running to the shore, so that by winding up or paying out these lines, the barge may be maneuvered into the proper position and then held in this position. Of course, it is obvious that the barge might have engine-operated means whereby it could be shifted and then the shore lines coming from the Winches 50 would hold the barge in the position desired. To a certain extent also, the spuds will hold the barge in a set position as well as act as guides for the bell.

While I, of course, do not wish to be limited to any particular means for forcing water through the water pipe 24 to the sluice box 22 or for withdrawing the sand or tailings through the pipe 25 or discharging compressed air into the interior of the bell, I have shown for the purpose of air compressing. the compressor 5l discharging into an air tank 52 from which the pipe 36 extends. The water pipe 24 is connected by the flexible hose 33 to the discharge pipe 53 of a water pump 54 while the sand pipe 25 is connected by the ilexible pipe 34 to the sand pump 55.

A winding drum 56 is provided over which the cable 2li passes, this winding drum having a gear wheel El driven by a gear wheel 58 on a shaft 59 which in turn is driven from a line shaft E!! in turn driven from the shaft of a motor 6|, this motor preferably being inthe form of a 25-horsepower Diesel engine. The sand pump is driven from this line shaft El! and the water pump is also driven from this line shaft. Of course, suitable clutches are provided whereby any or all of these instrumentalities may be selectively operated or operatively disconnected from the line shaft Bil.

The interior of the bell is illuminated by an electric lamp 62 connected by Wires to a generator 63 mounted on the barge. The interior of the bell is provided, of course, with a telephone whereby communication may be had with the men on the barge, and with a signal button 64.

await? The bell is also provided with an air discharge element 65 so as to maintain a 'circulation of air and permit the introduction of fresh air into the bell at all times. The barge preferably will be made to provide six water-tight compartments, these compartments being provided with valves for flooding in case of listing due to accidents or for other reasons. The barge, of course, will be of very shallow draft as it is intended that this barge will operate in water Ifrom 2 to 20 feet deep though it can be used for greater depths, if necessary.

There are three particularly important features in my construction, namely, the apron fili, the spuds 3G and the sluice box disposed within the bell. When the bell is lowered, the apron will touch the high bed rock rst, then the edge o-f the bell will settle in the sand of the apron and on the high p-art of the bed rock. The apron will hang straight down to the lower bed rock and conform thereto, thus enabling the operato-rs in the bell to work and clean up this irregular bed rock under comp-ressed air and without any water interfering with their operations due to the irregularity in the bed rock. The two spuds 3F., when lowered, serve as guides to direct the raising and lowering of the submarine bell, the bell being provided with shoes 38 that t around the spuds but move with facility on any upward or downward action of the bell. The spuds serve the purpose of keeping the bell in place despite rapid currents and insure immovability under working conditions. The sluice box permits the sand, gravel or rock which has been dug out from the if bed of the river to be concentrated by the riles of the sluice box and the Suction line 25 permits the fines or tailings to be lifted out of the way and reconcentrated on the deck of the barge if desirable. I have not shown any reconcentrating apparatus as any suitable concentrating apparatus might be used, the sand pump discharging onto this concentrating apparatus if it is desired to reconcentrate.

It will be understood that the bell is entered through the man-way tower which, as illustrated. is formed in sections so that if the work is to be done at considerable depth, new sections may be added to the tower, and so that the upper end of the tower is always clear above the water for at least 2 or 3 feet. The doors 23 and 29 within the tower serve as air locks. A workman entering the bell must rst enter the upper portion of the tower and lock the steel trap door behind him. He may then open the second door to thus permit i the pressure within the bell and within the lower portion of the tower to equalize or an air line 66 may be provided between the interior of the bell and the lower portion of the tower to equalize the air pressure. After the air pressure is equalized, he then enters the bell itself. The second door 29 is left open while he is working so that in case of an accident, the worker can climb above the water level. The flexible hose constituting the water line, the air line, the tailings, suction line and the cable containing the wires for the electric lights, telephone, etc., are protected by the pointed end I8 of the bell which constitutes a shield for the tower and which also serves to break the flow of water.

In the beginning of the work with my apparatus and after the bell has been lowered into position, the workmen handle the suction hose moving the nozzle here and there, and by the means of this suction hose or the sand pump take up all the loose gravel, sand and muck which is pumped to the sluice box El shown in 2, this sluice box being located alongside the barge on the deck where this gravel yis washed for gold. The sluice box 8l is provided with riiiles in the usual manner. After all of the over-burden has been pumped out and'into the sluice box 6l' and the bed rock is fairly clean, the sand pump 54 is shut down and the pump which forces water through the pipe 2li is started. The workmen clean the bed rock and crevices thoroughly and wash the gravel so gathered in the sluice box 22. The compartment 23 acts as a container for the gravel or nes which are washed out of the end of the sluice box and this is pumped out by the sand pump 54 only in case too much material is found in the crevices and has to be disposed of so as to keep the bell from becoming crowded with gravel. Pump 54 furnishes the water to the pipe line 24 to wash the gravel and other matters in the sluice box 22, The gravel is shoveled into this sluice box by hand. The tower sections 2l are preferably made in i ft. lengths with gaskets between the bolted ends of the sections.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction and certain particular arrangement of parts, it is obvious that many changes might be made in these details without departing vfrom the spirit of the invention as deiined the appended claims.

What is claimed isz- 1. A mining apparatus of the character described, including a barge, a diving bell, means supporting the diving bell on the barge, power operated means for raising or lowering the bell,

means maintaining a predetermined air pressure within the bell, a man-way tower extending upward from the bell and having locks, means whereby the pressure of air between the locks of the tower may be equalized, a sluice box disposed Within the diving bell and discharging into a tailings compartment, a pump on the barge, a flexible pipe extending from the pump into the bell and discharging into the sluice box, and a suction line extending from the tailings compartment to the barge and a sand pump connected to spuds siidingly supported in said opening of the I barge, guide members on the diving bell through which said spuds loosely pass, means for raising the spuds or holding them in raised position, and `5:.

means for releasing the raising means from the yspuds to permit the spuds to drop .and engage the bed of the stream, the spuds acting as guides for the diving bell.

3. An apparatus of the character described, including a barge having an opening in its center, a diving bell disposed within said opening, power operated means for raising or lowering the diving bell, spuds slidingly supported in said opening of the barge, guide members on the diving bell to the outer ends of the pawls, the pawls permitting the downward movement of the spuds upon a slackening of the cables and guides on the diving bell having sliding engagement with the spuds and permitting the spuds and diving bell to have relatively vertical movement.

(i. An apparatus of the character described, including a barge having a central vertical opening, uprights on each side of said opening and mounted on the barge, transverse beams carried by the uprights, a diving bell disposed in said opening, coacting tackle blocks mounted respectively upon the diving bell and upon vthe transverse beams, hoisting mechanism disposed on the barge, a lcable passing over said blocks and connected to the hoisting means, a tower mounted upon the diving bell and opening into the interior thereof and extending upward therefrom, the tower having a plurality of doors constituting air locks and having a ladder, means for supplying compressed air to the interior of the diving bell, means for guiding the bell in its vertical movement and anchoring the bell in predetermined position below the barge and against accidental movement, a sluice box disposed within the bell, the bell having a tailings compartment into which the sluice box discharges, a pump on the barge, .a water pipe extending from the pump into the bell and discharging onto the sluice box, a suction line extending from the tailings compartment out of the bell and operatively connected to a sand pump, means for forcing compressed air into the bell, and means for permitting the predetermined discharge of air from the bell.

5. An apparatus of the character described, includinor a barge having central opening, a diving bell disposed within said central opening, means for raising the diving bell to a level with the barge or lowering it below the level of the barge, a tubular tower carried by the bell and having an entrance opening and a ladder leading into v the bell, the tower having air locks, vertically extending spuds supported upon the barge at each end of the diving bell and having vertical movement independent of the diving bell, means for holding the spuds in a raised position or releasing said spuds to permit them to descend of their own weight and embed themselves in the bed of the stream, and guides mounted at opposite ends of the bell and slidingly engaging said spuds.

6. An apparatus of the character described,

, including a barge, a diving bell associated with the barge, power operated means on the barge for raising or lowering the diving bell, a tubular tower extending upward from the diving bell and having air locks and a ladder whereby access may be had to the interior of the bell, a riilled sluice box disposed Within the interior of the bell and inclined in one direction, a tailings compartment into which the sluice box discharges, a water inlet pipe discharging against the upper end of the sluice box, a pump on the barge, a flexible pipe connecting the inlet pipe of the pump, a suction line extending from the tailings compartment, a sand pump on the barge, flexible hose connecting the suction line with the sand pump, and means on the barge for forcing air under pressure into the interior of the diving bell.

'7. A diving bell having on its lower end an annular bag of flexible material and partially filled with granulated material, the bag extending entirely around the bell and at its upper end saving water-tigl'it engagement with the bell, the bag normally depending below the lower edge of the bell.

8. A diving bell having on its lower end a flexible annular bag of flexible material, the bag being divided into pockets by transversely extending flexible members, the interior of said pockets being partially filled with grannular material, the upper end of the bag being attached to and having water-tight contact with the surface of the bell entirely around its periphery.

9, A diving bell having on its lower end an annular bag of flexible material and partially filled with granulated material, the bag extending entirely around the bell, an annular metallic band extending around the lower portion of the diving bell and around which band the upper end of said bag is wrapped, and means for clamping the band tightly against the outer face of the bell.

l0. A diving bell having on its lower end an annular bag of flexible material and partially filled with granulated material, the bag extending entirely around the bell, an annular metallic band extending around the lower portion of the diving bell and around which band the upper end of said bag is wrapped, a plurality of upwardly and outwardly extending irons attached to the lower end of the bell, said band being disposed in the space between the upper ends of said irons and the bell, and set screws extending through the upper ends of the irons and bearing against the band to thereby force the band towards the bell and compress the folds of the bag thereagainst.

ll.. A diving ell having a packing member atiached to the bottom of the bell entirely around the bell and hanging freely therefrom, the packing member being formed of ilexible material and being in the form of a bag divided into pockets, the bag being partially filled with relatively heavy granular material whereby the bag will contact with the bed of a stream and conform to the contour thereof when the diving bell is lowered.

ROBERT G. NEIDER. 

